Homeowner sues over mistaken oil delivery

UPI News Service, 12/27/2012

A New York oil company is being sued for making a delivery to the wrong house in Brooklyn and sending oil through an old pipe straight to the basement floor.

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Vera Bernier, who owns the house in the Cypress Hills neighborhood and rents it out, told the New York Post a pool of 300 gallons of heating oil ended up in the basement after the mistaken delivery in January.

"It was not a good day for me," she said Wednesday. "I was livid for someone to make such a horrible mistake."

Bernier said Reliable, in upstate New York, stopped being helpful as the cost of the cleanup became clear. She said the city has told her she must pay for the cleanup, which could cost $60,000.

The delivery was supposed to be made to 142 Cleveland Ave., but the driver went to 132 Cleveland by mistake and pumped the oil through a pipe that is no longer in use.

Jim Gochnauer, a Christian high school principal who rents the house, said the mishap added $200 to his electric bill because of fans in the basement blowing away the smell of the oil.

"The first week or so, it smelled pretty strong, like being in an oil refinery," his wife, Ruthi, told the Post. "It was enough to give you a headache."